美国政府决定从8月4日开始，停止施行已经两年，禁止乘客带普通打火机上飞机的政策。美国运输部认为，在乘客登机前搜索他们身上是否携带打火机，根本是浪费时间。 2001年当鞋子炸弹客芮德意图在从巴黎飞往迈阿密的班机上，用火柴引燃藏在鞋子里的炸弹後，美国政府在国会的坚持之下，终於宣布了禁带打火机上机的命令。* ]6 N% a M/ U. t
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Cigarette lighter ban 'a waste of time': US: s: k, ]' J! D2 y7 j
US authorities will no longer enforce a two-year-old ban against taking cigarette lighters on planes because searching passengers wasted time and did not improve aviation security, the New York Times reports. . T7 ~. p- I* a* M" R- k; y; Q+ F + C x, _. S2 @; i$ Q! @/ \The ban on lighters was ordered by US lawmakers after a passenger, Richard Reid, tried to ignite a bomb in his shoe in 2001 on a flight from Paris to Miami.- b; N" ~* w# Y2 i d
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Reid, known as the "shoe bomber", had used matches to try to ignite explosives concealed in his shoe and is currently serving a life sentence for trying to blow up the transatlantic flight. % _2 S2 r# |; D$ ]7 t2 L4 R' y ) |1 j& L' ]2 rUS authorities have never tried to ban matches from flights.. \9 C+ k8 O0 d$ c# e4 A3 G: o
8 ~6 o8 C2 U8 E7 ]; J( L+ ^US Transport Security Administration assistant secretary Kip Hawley says the ban on lighters did not significantly enhance security because small batteries could be used to detonate a bomb.& m: g* C+ B$ R
Mr Hawley says lifting the prohibition will free up security officers to spend more time looking for bombs or bomb parts.) [1 @. ]* _: Y* U# Y
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"The number one threat for us is someone trying to bring bomb components through the security check point," he said. , }3 K$ ]- V: [& o" e% Y2 I " i" _7 z7 x+ `. d- p/ O7 @"We don't want anything that distracts concentration from searching for that." 3 J; }5 C3 j/ V# M$ {& l: ?: ~+ n0 w4 \- `4 s* E6 X7 W
The policy change is to take effect on August 4 and applies to disposable butane lighters and refillable lighters.0 f. Q" V6 ~8 x+ _
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The New York Times says some 22,000 lighters a day are collected by security officers at airports across the United States and disposing of the confiscated lighters has cost about $US4 million a year.
